An incident at the Florida Hialeah abortion clinic has attracted attention in the mainstream press. The Miami Herald ran an article about an eighteen-year-old woman who claimed to have given birth to a living baby at the clinic.
Other witnesses confirmed the story. From the article:
“She told police she went for an abortion on July 19 and clinic employees gave her drugs to begin dilation. The next day, the teen said, she went to the clinic to complete the procedure. When she told the clinic staff she wasn’t feeling well, they put her in a recovery room while she waited for the doctor to arrive.
In the recovery room, she said, she suddenly gave birth. She told detectives she saw the baby gasping for five minutes as clinic staffers began shrieking, according to a search warrant.
On July 22, detectives searched the clinic — but did not find the baby. Five days later, a source told police the baby had been tossed on the roof of the one-story strip mall.
On July 28, investigators raided the clinic again. This time, they found the baby inside a red biohazard bag in the clinic.”
In an autopsy the age of the baby was estimated at 22 weeks after conception. One week older than this premature baby who survived:
It was later determined that the living baby had been stuffed into a plastic bag by Belkis Gonzalez, co-owner of the clinic.
Detective Tony Rodriguez, the lead investigator on the case, was quoted saying:
“In 24 years of law enforcement, I have never seen a case like this.”
In November an autopsy on the aborted baby girl revealed that she had indeed been born alive. She had black hair and brown eyes. The baby was named Shaunice Denise Oshbourne. According to a spokesman for Operation Rescue, who obtained the autopsy:
“Once she [Shaunice] was born, she was deserving of the same protections under the law as the rest of us….Shoving her into a plastic bag and tossing her onto a roof to die is just unconscionable.”
Despite the undisputed fact that a baby was born alive, no charges have been filed, and none are foreseen since the baby would not have officially been considered ‘viable’ for another week.
Sources:
“Fetus’ Age Key to Possible Charges Against Hialeah Abortion Clinic: Procecuters Looking into a Case at a Hialeah Abortion Clinic Where a Baby was Born Alive are Weighing Whether to File Criminal Charges” Susannah A. Nesmith, David Ovalle and Jacob Goldstein, The Miami Herald Sep 17, 2006
“Autopsy Confirms that ‘Aborted’ Florida Baby was Born Alive” OR Press Release
“Dead Baby Found in Abortion Clinic: Clinic Closed” by Dave Malkoff
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